Gone Again
by ThoseWereTheDays
Summary: Anakin and Padmé share a night together. ONE-SHOT


_Disclaimer: If you think I own Star Wars, you are sadly mistaken. I own nothing!__

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"**Gone Again"**

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For the first time in three months, Padmé awoke with a smile.

A small moan of contentment escaped her lips as she stirred in her bed, and rolled onto her side. Rather, _their_ bed. Yes, it belonged to both of them.

It had felt like ages since he had left… since her husband had once again been called away to fight, and she had last basked in the warmth of his touch. Too often, she found herself alone; longing to see his face, his smile, to hear the sound of his voice, and his laughter. Still, he could send her heart racing without even trying. That lopsided grin that was uniquely his had been her undoing more times than she could count.

Night after night, she would simply stare at his side of the bed and imagine him lying there, sleeping right beside her. And night after night, she would pray to the gods that he would return to her, safely. Sometimes, despite her best efforts, she was unable to hold back the tears. Always, she was hearing whispers…

Some believed that the Jedi were too few and spread too thin to protect so many. Every day, more and more were falling victim to a battle that never should have been waged in the first place; dying alongside their devoted clone troopers, never to know the peace that they had long been striving for. The majority saw the reports on the holonet as nothing more than a series of numbers and statistics. Padmé, however, saw them as something far more significant. She knew better than most that those numbers had names, faces.

The war had already claimed so many, and the very real possibility that it could claim the love of her life tortured her more than any physical pain ever could. He couldn't become just another statistic… yet another casualty, needlessly lost and forgotten.

She could still recall the night before in every vivid detail. Her fears had been washed away when he had come to her, hood drawn and barely able to contain himself. His hair had grown longer over the course of their months spent apart, and he had looked slightly paler than she had last seen him, but his eyes shone with the same fiery intensity that still sent shivers running through her body.

They had embraced, and shared a kiss that she swore had stolen her breath so much that she never thought she would get it back. He had said something, but she hadn't heard the words. Afraid that he was a figment of her imagination, or perhaps part of some cruel dream, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and held him so tight that she was surprised she hadn't choked him. In that moment, there was only _them_… only _they_ mattered. Nothing else existed.

They had spent the following hours entangled in the blissful comfort of each other's arms. Padmé's spirits had sank when he had told her that they would only have one night, share only one evening as husband and wife, but the thought had quickly vanished when he had once again captured her lips in his own. Both had tried to stay awake, not wanting to waste even a second of their time together, but eventually they had drifted off; neither of them willing to let go, or let the other out of their sight.

It had been paradise.

Now, as Padmé refrained from opening her eyes and reached across their bed, her chest tightened in anticipation. He had often expressed how difficult it was for him to bear saying goodbye… how hard it was each time he was forced to abandon her without knowing when they would meet again. In the back of her mind, she always worried that he would one day slip away and disappear before she awoke, instead of facing the pain of leaving her side. Deep down, she knew that he would never do such a thing, never leave her behind that way, but the hole in the pit of her stomach was always there.

Padmé's smile broadened when she rested a hand on the warm body beside her, and she felt the rise and fall of her husband's chest. Finally, she allowed her eyes to flutter open and settle on the sleeping form of Anakin Skywalker.

Soon, he would be gone again.

Soon, she would be alone.

But for now, her Ani was home.

_**fin.**_

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_Author's Note__:_

_This idea just happened to come to me, so I sat down and wrote it in about 15 minutes. Hope you enjoyed it!_

_~ThoseWereTheDays_


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